A little off topic, but do you think Rahim Moore might be active next week? I know McCarthy can play special teams, but they needed Moore&#8217s athleticism back there with Carter cramping up.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 23:47:16

Well, Playoff picture looks about like this:

There&#8217ll be the AFC West available to win or 1 Wildcard. (The Baltimore/Pittsburgh pair will eat up 1 of those spots for sure)

Means the Race is: Tie or better record than Oakland (which we hold the tiebreaker for); Better or even with Jets, Cincinnati; Better than

Tennessee.

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 22:11:04

I&#8217m predicting now that after next Sunday, Denver will be alone at the top of the AFC West. And best of all, I have tickets to the game! WooHoo!

(Oakland plays in Green Bay next week, right?)

Posted by CompUser on 2011-12-04 22:10:15

I gotta give props to my wife. She got me a Bronco-outfit (shirt, hoody, hat)for my birthday back in November and it went perfectly ever since;).

Did not see all of the game but I guess the D misses Von big time. A couple of big plays (Haggan, Goody)saved our butts today.

Looking at the passing stats I think it&#8217s time to open up the playbook and call some more passes, about 20 or so. TT looked pretty solid and thew a couple of good ones even besides the completions (e.g. the close one to DT in the 4th).

Talking &#8216bot DT: glad he put in an impressive one after his rather pathetic showings in the last weeks.

And the Faiders got KILLED vs Miami. Great!

Go Broncos

Posted by Tropex on 2011-12-04 21:59:20

Tebow played better today, absolutely. This was the first time the Broncos really put up the points on offense with Tebow starting, which is good to see.

Sure, one can say the Vikings have a lousy secondary, but earlier in the season, Tebow wasn&#8217t doing a good job making the throws he needed to. Today, he did so. No matter how weak the opponent is, it&#8217s up to the players to execute.

And how could the stars have aligned any better now that the Broncos get a Bears team with no Jay Cutler and no Matt Forte? Of course, this is a Bears team that will be desperate for a win, so the Broncos will still need to execute often.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:58:52

If they can use that second half as a launching point for this passing offense, that would be huge. Then again, DT did get behind his defender multiple times on what basically were busted coverages a couple of times. Still, it was great to see him getting involved in the offense.

On the defensive side of the ball, it seems like they really did wear down after the first 20 minutes or so. The Vikings&#8217 offensive line also did a much better job of picking up all of the Broncos&#8217 blitzes. If Ponder can pick apart the Broncos secondary when that happens, that doesn&#8217t bode well for the future. Getting Von back so they don&#8217t have to blitz as often will be huge. So will replacing Goodman after this season. But, props to him for his second huge INT this season.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 21:57:49

special teams outstanding, quarterback outstanding, haggan stepping in and stepping up, dawkins a force, bad bounces and bad calls but the broncos just got it done. awesome.

Posted by Tombstone on 2011-12-04 21:51:45

@John Hilton: Yes, that&#8217s two games in a row that Tim Tebow showed decent improvement over the previous game. Let&#8217s hope it&#8217s a trend that continues for four more games.

Posted by CompUser on 2011-12-04 21:47:48

Love that win! What a team effort.

Posted by DavidInLA on 2011-12-04 21:43:03

Notice that Tebow did very little running today compared to what we have seen in the last few games. This was much more of a traditional game plan and it still resulted in Tebow throwing no INTs and a whopping 202 yards on only 15 attempts with 10 completions. What is more exciting for me was the fact that Denver ran the ball well out these more traditional sets. Definite progress folks.

Posted by John Hilton on 2011-12-04 21:35:35

Props to DT. Great game.

5 straight road wins.

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 21:30:46

That all happened too (in 4th quarter) as a guy I know on Twitter who is a Vikes fan was tweeting me about how much better Ponder is than Tebow. I&#8217d told him I thought they were equally fun to watch and problematic and promising. He quieted down after the tying drive and then the interception.

Posted by underdog on 2011-12-04 21:28:06

YAHOOOOOOO!

Tied for 1st and tied for wildcard!!!!

Great day!

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 21:25:50

Well I missed Goodman&#8217s interception, but will assume it happened. <img alt="wink" height="19" src="http://www.singernet.com/images/smileys/wink.gif" style="border:0;" width="19">

WOO! Really thought they were gonna lose that game. In some ways thought that from the start, as a trap game, a very due team, a team with a good DL, Broncos haven&#8217t thrown it much, etc etc. Didn&#8217t matter, Broncos win 5 in a row on the road for first time in 13 years.

Posted by underdog on 2011-12-04 21:24:26

I don&#8217t think the Vikes were expecting to lose in a shootout ... but they did.

Posted by GEM592 on 2011-12-04 21:24:05

Can anyone tell me why they ran Ball into the line twice after picking up that first down? I was petrified he was going to fumble - or score a TD with too much time left.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 21:23:37

But what about Tebow&#8217s STATS?!?!

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 21:20:35

AND IT&#8217S GOOD!

Denver is tied for first in the AFC West, ladies and gentlemen!

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:19:51

What a win! I just can&#8217t take these games anymore!!!

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 21:19:40

DENVER WINS!

Posted by CompUser on 2011-12-04 21:19:35

Time out called, fourth down, two seconds left, Denver set to kick a field goal.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:17:50

Second and goal, Vikings out of time outs, Denver just running the clock down to get ready for the field goal.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:15:51

WTF if Fox doing? Time to kneel!!!

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 21:15:28

CBS cut off the game in Phx for a pre game show. I am out of my mind.

Posted by sluggo on 2011-12-04 21:15:16

To update those who lost the feed, Goodman picked off Ponder and now Denver is in great field position.

Hoping they keep the ball and get at least a FG.

And Lance Ball just ran hard for a first down!

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:14:28

There, that&#8217s at least two notches!

Posted by CompUser on 2011-12-04 21:13:26

Mine too O&B! Yikes. I think they caught their mistake though, are back to ad break.

It&#8217s a conspiracy!

Posted by underdog on 2011-12-04 21:12:48

GOODMAN!

For all we picked on him today, let&#8217s give him props for coming through when he needed to the most.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:12:45

Forget all of that stuff I said about Goody&#8230

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 21:12:42

There&#8217s too much time left. Defense needs to step it up a notch (or two) right now.

Posted by CompUser on 2011-12-04 21:11:46

What the he&#8217ll, my feed went to hou-atl!!!

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 21:11:46

Don&#8217t let Harvin run that back!

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 21:11:03

Crush this KO, Prater. Don&#8217t give &#8216em a short field.

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 21:10:53

Nice job Prater. Man, wow, that was a perfect throw from TT to DT, thought he was gonna make that grab but nice play by Griffin at the last minute to prevent fingertip catch.

Posted by underdog on 2011-12-04 21:10:50

Prater&#8230re-sign him!

Let&#8217s go D.

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 21:10:24

That was a tough catch to make there&#8230 Billick is right that Tebow was throwing under pressure and he had to get rid of it quickly.

Now we get to find out if the D can come through.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:10:03

Come on Defense!

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 21:10:02

Chicago lost to the Chiefs today.

And the Bears also lost Matt Forte for the game. I have a feeling they&#8217re gonna miss the playoffs now.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:08:40

Play of the game coming up. 3rd down&#8230.

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 21:07:33

I guess it&#8217s a question of &#8220too much time&#8221 now. But Denver has all 3 time outs, so they can bleed whatever they want off, I guess.

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 21:05:55

Burn clock, get touchdown. Go home.

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 21:05:50

Let&#8217s score TD here Broncos!

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 21:05:14

As much as Andre Goodman has struggled today, every Viking defensive back has done poorly against Demaryius Thomas today and he is making them pay.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:03:29

Nice running after the catch, Matt Willis.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 21:02:17

Time to make your money, McCoy.

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 21:00:50

That absolutely should&#8217ve been intentional grounding. May have still made the field goal anyway, but wow, that is a pretty small &#8220pocket&#8221 there.

Posted by underdog on 2011-12-04 21:00:17

BS again.

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 21:00:02

Well, it&#8217s 4 downs from here out.

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 20:59:44

Here we go again, folks.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:59:15

The refs definitely want the Vikings to win.

Posted by GEM592 on 2011-12-04 20:58:46

Wow. We REALLY miss Miller. This would be a very different game, I suspect.

Posted by MarkJP on 2011-12-04 20:56:13

Another long third down conversion on Goody. Wow this is rough.

Posted by sluggo on 2011-12-04 20:56:09

Come on fumble/INT&#8230 and someone tell the refs to stop helping.

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 20:55:48

Grrr, we just can&#8217t seem to rattle Ponder any more.

This is definitely a time in which I wish Von Miller was out there.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:55:04

Converted on Goodman. Weird.

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 20:54:49

Hold em defense! Zone blitz!

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 20:54:13

We really need the D to get a stop here.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:52:09

Loadholt just made Ted&#8217s point right there.

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 20:51:12

Ugh, Defense has to come up with a stop here.

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 20:50:17

I guess we do miss Miller.

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 20:50:15

That&#8217s how you do it! Great plays from TT, DT, McGahee!

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 20:47:49

This will e the season that gave me an ulcer

Posted by RalphW on 2011-12-04 20:47:48

C&#8217mon, defense&#8230 One good stop. Maybe even try doubling Harvin this time.

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 20:47:40

Holy crap is this an exciting game

Posted by magster on 2011-12-04 20:47:35

TEEEEBOOOOWWWW!

Posted by donbok1 on 2011-12-04 20:47:13

If the D can get Minn off the field, Denver can take this.

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 20:46:28

Once again, Broncos give up a TD, and come right back and score super quickly. WOW. Two great plays.

Posted by underdog on 2011-12-04 20:46:21

We are scoring too quick&#8230haha. Never thought I&#8217d say that!

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 20:46:13

Wow, another big gain by DT again.

And it leads to a TD by McGahee!

Cedric Griffin is terrible, folks. Pray with me he never becomes a Bronco.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:46:08

Wow. Not much defense either way as of late&#8230

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 20:46:05

Nice freaking shootout, lol.

Posted by Xtreme212000 on 2011-12-04 20:45:52

Was Minnesota intending to kick it like that? Because they sure haven&#8217t been able to contain Denver on kick returns today.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:44:52

Only one guy they really need to cover and he&#8217s burned them on consecutive drives. That one hurts.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 20:42:20

you have to be kidding me with that attempt McCarthy.

Posted by donbok1 on 2011-12-04 20:42:02

UGH. McCarthy and Bailey both blew that play. They&#8217re right, live by blitz and die by blitz. That time they died. Not good.

Still, if anyone now thinks this is over, don&#8217t.

Posted by underdog on 2011-12-04 20:42:00

Dang it! We had Ponder dead to right and he got rid of the ball!

And then McCarthy needs to make the tackle.

Offense needs to respond on this drive.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:41:59

Terrible effort by McCarthy. This isn&#8217t looking good.

Posted by Xtreme212000 on 2011-12-04 20:41:30

Roger that, Royal.

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 20:39:46

I&#8217m serious when I say that Goodman is costing the Broncos this game thus far.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 20:38:53

Well, this game is going to come down to the last play of the game.

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 20:37:40

Maybe refs have a few dollars on Minnesota to cover&#8230

Posted by sluggo on 2011-12-04 20:37:11

Explain this to me: How is it illegal hands to the face on Clady but not on Allen who equally had his hands on Clady&#8217s facemask and head? Is it only called on the offense? He shoved Ryan&#8217s head backwards on that. Big bummer because they converted on that throw, too.

Posted by underdog on 2011-12-04 20:36:42

Road game in the NFL.

Sigh

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 20:36:36

A lot of bad calls this game.

Posted by AndrewR0488 on 2011-12-04 20:36:05

Clady absorbed the hands to the face. Should&#8217ve been a penalty in the opposite direction.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 20:36:05

How was that worse on Clady than on Jared Allen?

Posted by AndrewR0488 on 2011-12-04 20:35:33

That sure looked like Allen was pushing off Clady&#8217s face mask as well.

Now we need the defense to step up again.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:35:32

Another bad call, it was Clady&#8217s head getting ripped off

Posted by magster on 2011-12-04 20:35:30

Great play by Tebow. BS call on Clady.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 20:34:58

Tebow is really killing them with these holding and hands to the face penalties&#8230

Posted by jubei on 2011-12-04 20:34:46

Refs knew we were about to get control of the game, so they reined us in with some crap

Posted by magster on 2011-12-04 20:32:27

Replay showed Willis wasn&#8217t even looking at Royal. Harris actually had the block and let up.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:31:42

Yes, Chi. It&#8217s a little ribbing to someone who likes to play &#8220fan police&#8221 and serves & protects our safety as Broncos fans.

Hope Eddie is ok.

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-12-04 20:31:34

So Matt Willis: we like the effort, but check the jersey!

Posted by OutInOregon on 2011-12-04 20:30:52

Didn&#8217t Matt Willis tackle McGahee early in the year as well? Come on, dude.

Posted by Xtreme212000 on 2011-12-04 20:30:04

OK, Matt Willis, I know you mean well, but when you see Eddie signal for a fair catch, BACK OFF THE PLAYER YOU ARE BLOCKING. It&#8217s up to that guy to stay away from Eddie, not you to clear him out.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:30:00

Andrew Mason says the Broncos have the ball. Just FYI. Thought maybe the announcers might say something about that.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-12-04 20:29:48

Nice work knocking that ball down, Ayers.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-12-04 20:28:06

Oh, grow up. I&#8217m perfectly happy to credit him for good plays. It&#8217s the constant McCoy Blaming/Praising of Plays any Competent Professional Could Make that drives me crazy.

You do see the difference, right?

Posted by Chibronx on 2011-12-04 20:27:33

@jubei:

He&#8217s being forced to trust his protection. Get it out or get smashed. Clarifies the mind, I imagine.